Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Storytime: Ice & Igloos

Age: 18-36 months (coloring page instead of craft), 3-5 years (with craft)

This school year in storytime I decided to use the alphabet to give me inspiration for themes. So this week, I is for Ice! (I'd really wanted to do a whole storytime about igloos, but couldn't find nearly enough books. So we expanded the idea.)


1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) Mystery Box
This week I kept my box in the kitchen (right next door to my club room) so I could claim to have "forgotten" the box. I would run in and quickly take a small sandwich bag of ice (that I had put together ahead of time in the freezer), toss it in the box, and come back in. When I showed it to the kids, I put it against each of their hands so they could feel how cold it was!


3) Bunnies on Ice - Johanna Wright 
I did paperclip a few of the pages together in this one. I didn't think the images would capture my kids attention very well, but wanted the main part of the story to still come through. It was a good one for the introduction to "ice".


4) Jingle Bells 
I have large jingle bells strung together in pairs that I handed out for the kids to dance with during the song.


5) Geography lesson
I brought in a globe and showed the kids where we live, then explained how way up north it's cold and snowy ALL the time, and some people live in special houses made out of snow and ice!


6) Look Inside an Igloo - Schuh
One of the few books I was able to find that's about igloos and is kid-friendly! The kids thought these houses were pretty neat. I also pulled out Building an Igloo by Ulli Steltzer, and showed one specific page with a picture of lots of ice/snow blocks lined up and ready to be put together.


7) Build an igloo feltboard
I took a piece of flannel, made the general shape of an igloo (including a door), then cut it into eight pieces and numbered them with a Sharpie. I handed them out to the kids and had them help me build an igloo!


8) 5 Little Eskimos
From Step by Step Childcare. I printed out five identical Eskimos and gave them some flannel backing. I lined them up underneath our igloo, near the door, to start.

Five little Eskimos by the igloo door. 
One went out to feed the dogs, then there were four. 
Four little Eskimos rowing out to sea, 
One jumped on an iceberg, then there were three. 
Three little Eskimos making fish stew, 
One burned his finger, then there were two. 
Two little Eskimos hunting for fun, 
One chased a baby seal, then there was one. 
One little Eskimo all his work was done, 
Went home to supper, then there were none.


9) 5 Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice - Steve Metzger
The kids really wanted to say no more monkeys penguins jumping on the bed...


10) Parachute play 
It had been awhile since we'd played with the parachute. We bounced a little stuffed penguin around for awhile, then lifted it up over our heads for them to go under. It was kind of like an igloo. :)


11) I is for Ice coloring page (18-36 mo.) or I is for Igloo craft (3-5 yrs)
I told the kids how impressed I was with their cutting abilities during last week's H is for house craft, so I also traced the I on black paper for them to cut out. Then I had pre-cut some white address labels into squares (just really roughly cut with a paper cutter, no measuring), and they took them off like stickers and put them on their I like ice cubes on an igloo. Finally they glued a little black door on their I-igloo.
My 3.5-year-old daughter's version



Other ice ideas:
Seven Little Mice Have Fun on the Ice - Kazuo Iwamura
Callie Cat, Ice Skater - Eileen Spinelli
Ice skating indoors - use squares of wax paper under feet (I ended up using this in my Olympics storytime!)





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